Qualities rediscovered

Reflecting back on the last few years I am discovering self qualities or characteristics that I was unaware of. Do any of us really know ourselves?

I remember having a conversation with my GP a while back. I was feeling a little sorry for myself as can happen. She looked through my medical records and then looked at me and said. Tom look at what you have come through, and how you always come back. She pointed out to me my resilience and I am very grateful to her for that.

I had a psychotherapy session just a few days ago. This lady is really good and she talks to cancer patients to help them get through the voyage. That’s her job. She listens and she mirrors. We discuss lots of things, life, philosophy, poetry whatever. And sometimes we discuss cancer. But it is good that we talk about lots of subjects. She showed me how deep I was and how I have always been. I had forgotten. I had been told that by people throughout my life but never really accepted it.

I have often wondered have I got through the ‘horrors’ and ‘rapids’ of chemotherapy but those two ladies have helped me realise that resilience and depth were important tools.

We all have those qualities, we need to cultivate depth we need to believe in ourselves, we need to make efforts to understand ourselves and our minds.